Cronulla Sharks NRLW 2024 Season Review with Sam Shinazzi and Dan Nichols

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[00:01:52] Hey there, welcome to SharkCast Pod, a podcast dedicated to the greatest sporting club in the history of the entire universe,

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[00:02:08] the Royal Motor Yacht Club in Port Hacking and Jason Hawes at Crips & Crips Real Estate.

[00:02:12] My name is Sam Shinazzi, OG 2015, supporting a lot longer.

[00:02:16] On the other end of this line is a very, very good man.

[00:02:19] His name is Dan Nichols.

[00:02:21] He does a million things, but most importantly to you, he is one half of the Fins Up podcast,

[00:02:28] a podcast dedicated to, funnily enough, the greatest sporting club in the history of the world.

[00:02:33] Dan, how are you my friend?

[00:02:34] Mate, I'm wonderful on this beautiful afternoon.

[00:02:36] Thank you for having me.

[00:02:38] Everything you said and then some.

[00:02:40] I believe that you've been to a rock concert in the last 24 hours.

[00:02:43] I have, yeah.

[00:02:43] Still Panther last night, celebrating my birthday tomorrow as we record.

[00:02:47] So it took a couple of days off work.

[00:02:50] I feel like I've earned it, mate, being that I'm, well, not turning 50, but I feel like I'm turning 50.

[00:02:55] Well, that is amazing news.

[00:02:57] Happy birthday for tomorrow or whenever people are listening, we'll just wish Dan a happy birthday.

[00:03:02] They could be listening in a year's time for all we know, but happy birthday, Dan.

[00:03:05] Was the show good?

[00:03:06] It was fantastic, mate.

[00:03:07] It was really good.

[00:03:08] And I haven't had a beer since the butterfly effect in February.

[00:03:10] I tried to make up for it last night, but I'm not as young as I once was.

[00:03:14] That's a long time between drinks.

[00:03:16] Look, it is, mate.

[00:03:17] Usually the sharks make me drink, but this year I made a concerted effort to try and watch the games and enjoy the games.

[00:03:24] Day didn't always make that possible, but I did my best.

[00:03:29] Just try and drop a few kegs, I guess, and the beers are empty calories.

[00:03:32] So if you're tuning in for weight loss advice, that's all I got.

[00:03:36] Well, I mean, if the sharks make you drink, this year was a year where you didn't consume that much because it was a pretty good year in every grade you want to think about.

[00:03:47] But we are here specifically to talk about the NRLW season that was for the Cronulla Sharks women's team.

[00:03:55] I guess a lot of people tuning in to hear about the NRL, but we love the NRLW here at SharkCarsPod.

[00:04:00] And we want to do an episode entirely about the season that was for them.

[00:04:05] Their second season, Dan.

[00:04:06] Now, last year was a decent season for their inaugural.

[00:04:10] It was, they finished sixth under Tony Herman, but this year it was a lot better.

[00:04:14] They finished fourth.

[00:04:15] They really should have won the minor premiership.

[00:04:17] They didn't.

[00:04:18] Spoiler, they went all the way to the grand final and lost, which we'll get to.

[00:04:22] But seven wins in an 11 game season, Dan, I'm going to call it a success.

[00:04:27] Yeah, 100% agree.

[00:04:28] If you said that preseason, I would have taken it happily.

[00:04:33] Yeah, we did fall away a little bit at the end, which I'm sure we'll touch on soon.

[00:04:36] But mate, if you talk about pushing the Roosters in a grand final, that's pretty much all you can ask for to be telling.

[00:04:41] So six in a row to start the season.

[00:04:44] Absolutely phenomenal effort from all involved.

[00:04:48] Started out against the Cowboys at home, winning 14-0.

[00:04:52] And for the most part, with the exception of probably two games in particular, the defense was the, I think, highlight and easily the most improved thing about the team in 2024.

[00:05:08] Yeah, big time.

[00:05:09] I mean, it's still young, still in its infancy, the women's game.

[00:05:13] But you see teams like the Roosters can put 20 points on you in no time.

[00:05:18] Most teams haven't worked out the defensive structure to stop that and it becomes shootouts.

[00:05:22] Even in the grand final last year, being 2023, you know, the Knights just ran the Titans down because they scored more points.

[00:05:29] Not like they out-defended them, they just out-gunned them.

[00:05:31] I thought Cronulla had a different game plan to a lot of teams.

[00:05:35] And to hold teams scoreless in this grade is very difficult, as you see, by looking at the results.

[00:05:41] We did it twice this year.

[00:05:43] From memory, the Cowboys and the Broncos.

[00:05:45] So, yeah, defensive-minded.

[00:05:48] Change the game a little bit, which I've got to say, I was pretty, not upset, but I was a little bit shocked Tony Herman didn't win coach of the year.

[00:05:55] And a lot of it had to do with the fact that the Shafts can defend like a few other teams.

[00:05:59] We'll go chronologically, but yeah, the spoiler is that to get to the grand final, they won 14-0 away from home against Brisbane, who have won championships.

[00:06:09] Like, you know, I have coffee in the morning and it was such a line in the sand for the team.

[00:06:16] And we'll get to that.

[00:06:17] But opening game, 14-0 against the Cowboys.

[00:06:20] They then had a really gritty, memorable for me, win against Parramatta at Allianz Stadium.

[00:06:27] And they won 18-16.

[00:06:29] And in a lot of these games, they came from behind, not by necessarily huge margins, but they hung in there.

[00:06:34] And then, you know, five, ten minutes to go, they got the winning points to win the game.

[00:06:40] They then went to Canberra and they won 24-12.

[00:06:44] Which again, I mean, Canberra, you know, not the greatest NRLW team, but to go there on the road, expectations are that you're probably not going to win all your games.

[00:06:53] They're 2-0, they go to Canberra, they're 3-0.

[00:06:56] And then one that I think a whole bunch of our listeners remember and were at the ground to watch was the 14-12 game against Newcastle, Dan, at Shark Park.

[00:07:05] Yeah, the Newcastle win was the coming out.

[00:07:07] I mean, the Cowboys were a team that were meant to improve, but not set the wall on fire.

[00:07:13] Canberra, sorry, Parramatta were, you know, finished last, last year, recruited really well.

[00:07:18] They were going to improve.

[00:07:19] But I think losing Jada Taylor in that game, I wrote us off.

[00:07:22] I thought she was our X factor.

[00:07:23] I thought any chance we had to win in the comp was gone.

[00:07:26] You lose your one player who's like no one else in the competition.

[00:07:29] Obviously, that's going to hurt.

[00:07:31] Canberra again, finishing the finals last year.

[00:07:33] But a team that, you know, were there or thereabouts.

[00:07:36] Newcastle are defending two-time champions.

[00:07:39] You beat them at home.

[00:07:40] That sent a message.

[00:07:41] That's when I started to get just a little bit excited about where things are.

[00:07:44] Yeah, I remember the conditions were not great.

[00:07:45] It was super windy, overcast.

[00:07:47] Not great weather for Rugby League, but they, again, the defensive edge in that game, along with a decent kicking game, really got them home.

[00:07:56] And then a very fun win in Wurongong, winning 28-4.

[00:08:01] It was the 6 o'clock kickoff after the main NRL match.

[00:08:06] And that was, again, another great win.

[00:08:09] And then they went to the Gold Coast and won 22-6.

[00:08:12] So a couple of big point margins there to get them, get the confidence going even more.

[00:08:18] I met at 6-0, Dan.

[00:08:19] Yeah, the Dragons game was great because Emetone Agato just seems to have something against her former team.

[00:08:25] Two years in a row, she's torn them apart and she's taken young Teagan Berry apart, which is always fun for social media purposes.

[00:08:31] A game we're expected to win, but, you know, you play a local derby, men's, women's, juniors, form goes out the window.

[00:08:37] So that was a great win.

[00:08:39] And I started getting a little bit ahead of myself, I have to say.

[00:08:43] And then we went to the Titans.

[00:08:45] I thought, oh, this could be the humbling.

[00:08:47] This could be the game that really changes us.

[00:08:49] We had them for toast last year.

[00:08:51] They scored in the last play and beat us at home in miserable conditions.

[00:08:54] It was raining.

[00:08:55] It was just an awful day.

[00:08:56] We went up there and blew them off the park.

[00:08:58] And then I was thinking, uh-oh.

[00:09:00] I hate getting excited about Shaftes teams, mate, but geez, they were making it difficult at that time.

[00:09:05] And Jamie Chapman, who, you know, is everyone's favorite player or second favorite player at worst.

[00:09:11] And that's a bit all just absolutely took her apart.

[00:09:13] And I was starting to think, oh, here we go.

[00:09:15] Can we do it?

[00:09:16] Can we go through undefeated?

[00:09:17] Yeah, look, it's not an unrealistic thought in the grand scheme of things.

[00:09:21] Obviously, we know that's very hard to do any kind of year in any sport, but to be 6-0 and there's only nine regular season games,

[00:09:30] it wasn't out of the question, but then the big test came against the Roosters in round seven at Shark Park.

[00:09:37] Unfortunately, we lost 14-0.

[00:09:39] It was quite a shock to the system for a lot of people, as good as the Roosters are,

[00:09:43] but they really, really put it through us.

[00:09:46] And I guess that was just a wake-up reality check for the club, for the fans, for everyone involved.

[00:09:52] And maybe it was a good thing in hindsight.

[00:09:54] Yeah, in hindsight, at the ground, not so much.

[00:09:58] When we were undefeated, we'd beaten the two teams that played the grand final last year in the Titans and Newcastle.

[00:10:04] All the talk was good, but everyone knew the Roosters game was a litmus test.

[00:10:08] I hate comparing the men's and women's games, but earlier in the year, the blokes would run through everyone,

[00:10:13] all in plunder, play Penrith and got whacked.

[00:10:16] This was the Penrith moment for the girls.

[00:10:19] We were down there.

[00:10:20] It's a pretty big crowd on a Sunday elbow.

[00:10:21] The sun was shining.

[00:10:23] It was...

[00:10:25] I know Millie Elliott had ruled out.

[00:10:27] I think she got suspended.

[00:10:29] And you started to think, God, that really brings them back.

[00:10:31] Can we do this?

[00:10:32] And Nessa Biddle drops the kickoff and they score.

[00:10:35] And from there, it was all downhill.

[00:10:37] It just...

[00:10:37] It was literally the worst case scenario in that day.

[00:10:40] Yeah.

[00:10:41] Huge wake-up call.

[00:10:42] And then you start thinking, well, here we go again.

[00:10:45] Typical Sharks.

[00:10:46] But yeah, mate, it was an awful afternoon.

[00:10:49] Look, we had fun.

[00:10:50] Don't get me wrong.

[00:10:50] We were on the hill.

[00:10:51] There was a whole group of us.

[00:10:52] We were having a good time.

[00:10:53] Everyone was sort of enjoying 20...

[00:10:56] It felt like 30-0 at halftime.

[00:10:58] It's like, well, the game's over, but let's come out and get some pride back in the second half.

[00:11:02] Then the Roosters scored within like a minute or two.

[00:11:04] And it's just like...

[00:11:05] It just wasn't a very good afternoon at the job site.

[00:11:09] That's for sure.

[00:11:09] And then, unfortunately, they play Brisbane, who, as we said, always very, very competitive.

[00:11:16] It's a short losing margin.

[00:11:18] They lose 20-16 on the Gold Coast against Brisbane.

[00:11:22] And then they come into a Thursday night standalone game at Shark Park, which seems to be a bit of a tradition now.

[00:11:31] One of the last games of the year on a Thursday at Shark Park, which is quite a nice tradition two years in a row.

[00:11:36] And we play West Tigers, and the expectation there is we're going to bounce back and we're going to head into the finals with great form and potentially higher up the ladder.

[00:11:45] And, unfortunately, it's a pretty low game in the grand scheme of things for the neutral.

[00:11:51] But for a Sharks fan, it's pretty much not what you want to see going into the finals.

[00:11:56] They lose 12 points to 10.

[00:11:59] Low scoring game, obviously.

[00:12:00] What were your thoughts, Dan, then?

[00:12:03] Three losses in a row, limping into the finals.

[00:12:07] After the Broncos loss, I was annoyed because we had them.

[00:12:13] And Quincy Dodd kicked the ball dead in the last...

[00:12:16] She'd run the ball to the corner, we went.

[00:12:18] She kicks the ball dead.

[00:12:19] Brisbane got length and score off the last play, right?

[00:12:22] So in my head, I'm thinking, okay, in the positive, we pushed the second best team in the comp all the way, but we've lost a second game.

[00:12:29] All the time, I was thinking, we'll beat the Tigers by 40 and we'll fly into the finals.

[00:12:33] That Tigers game was a lot more painful to watch than the Roosters loss because the Roosters team, incredible.

[00:12:40] It can happen.

[00:12:41] It was just one of those days where everything went wrong.

[00:12:43] We had the Tigers beaten four times and kept dropping the ball with the line wide open.

[00:12:47] Cassie Staples diving for the line seven meters out and losing the ball, some the night up.

[00:12:53] Sitting in the stands next to the Natasha Penitani fan club.

[00:12:57] Do not get me wrong.

[00:12:57] They were fantastic and I'm really happy they had a great night, but my word was that a difficult watch.

[00:13:03] Yeah, I was expecting us to go up to Brisbane and cop a 80-0 flogging.

[00:13:07] I thought we were done.

[00:13:09] You know, Tynagato playing at fullback was an abject failure.

[00:13:13] It looked like a couple of the girls had said, ah, well, the season, we've done well.

[00:13:16] We've made the finals.

[00:13:18] Let's just cash in our chips.

[00:13:20] That's how I felt on that night.

[00:13:21] Obviously that's not how they felt, but yeah, that Thursday night against the Tigers, mate,

[00:13:26] I was happy for the Tigers girls because I hate seeing teams get flogged and lose game

[00:13:31] after game.

[00:13:32] But like the selfish side of me was like, yeah, there was actually a small part of me that

[00:13:37] remembers it being a feel good game because of that reason that West Tigers women's team

[00:13:42] has struggled and you know, Noddy's the coach and you want them to do well enough.

[00:13:48] And unfortunately it was against us.

[00:13:51] They really, they really played better.

[00:13:53] And going up to Queensland for that first week of the finals and obviously it's, it's do

[00:13:58] or die.

[00:13:59] So to speak, there wasn't a great feeling amongst the fans and people in the media, but they

[00:14:08] got back to what they do best.

[00:14:09] And that's the gritty defensive wins.

[00:14:13] And Tony Herman obviously can coach because he turned them around three losses in a row.

[00:14:17] Yeah.

[00:14:18] They conceded 72 points to 26 in those three games, but to keep Brisbane scoreless in a

[00:14:26] final up there after losing three in a row and pretty much everyone writing you off.

[00:14:31] That to me showed so much class and so much pride in the Jersey.

[00:14:37] And that got us into the grand final to play the Roosters.

[00:14:40] And yeah, Roosters is a great team and they've already put 40 on us.

[00:14:44] We were the underdogs, but then we get there.

[00:14:48] The first half again is just like, oh man, what's happening here?

[00:14:52] This is not good.

[00:14:53] And you're thinking the game's done.

[00:14:56] But again, they showed this, this pride in the Jersey.

[00:14:59] They put on their attacking boots in the second half and they get to within four points of

[00:15:04] what would be an incredible comeback premiership winning victory.

[00:15:10] It didn't happen, Dan, but I thought they restored a lot of pride in that second half.

[00:15:14] Yeah.

[00:15:14] Big time.

[00:15:15] I'm going to admit a few things on here, mate, because I feel like, you know, this is the

[00:15:19] place.

[00:15:20] After the Tigers game, I was annoyed that we lost, but I was looking at the way the results

[00:15:24] were going to fall.

[00:15:25] And for us to not make finals, Parramatta had to beat.

[00:15:28] I think it was the Roosters by 30 points or something.

[00:15:30] So it wasn't going to happen.

[00:15:32] I wanted to play Brisbane in the finals based on the fact that we should have got them.

[00:15:37] And if we'd beaten the Tigers, there's a good chance we would have had to play the Roosters.

[00:15:42] And then Newcastle came out firing in their last game and I was like, okay, maybe finishing

[00:15:46] fourth is the best thing for us here.

[00:15:50] I was worried that the Roosters were going to get the minor premiership and flog us in the

[00:15:53] first round.

[00:15:53] So that Broncos game to me was our grand final.

[00:15:56] Going into the actual grand final.

[00:15:58] Yeah, mate.

[00:15:58] If you'd said we lost 30 to 10, I'm taking that because I thought the Roosters were going

[00:16:02] to run right.

[00:16:03] At halftime, I was not devastated, but I was more upset for the girls because they'd been

[00:16:09] so bloody good all year.

[00:16:11] I just didn't want them to call for 40-0.

[00:16:13] And I tweeted something at halftime.

[00:16:15] I just want Cronulla to score.

[00:16:16] They deserve a try on grand final day.

[00:16:19] They deserve something to build on for next year.

[00:16:21] The game's gone.

[00:16:23] Let's just, let's just, you got to build.

[00:16:25] You can't lose a grand final 40-0.

[00:16:27] Losing 36, 10.

[00:16:28] Okay.

[00:16:29] Hey, we scored the last 10 points.

[00:16:30] Let's get them next year.

[00:16:31] Something for the preseason.

[00:16:32] Then they scored.

[00:16:33] I was like, ah, sweet.

[00:16:34] Then they scored again.

[00:16:35] I was like, okay, good.

[00:16:36] Feel good by me.

[00:16:37] Then they scored again.

[00:16:38] I was like, oh, this is really fun.

[00:16:39] Then they scored again.

[00:16:40] And then I was like, uh-oh, uh-oh.

[00:16:43] Then that penalty was given away.

[00:16:45] That Ziggy, we'll keep this PG, a fortunate call for the Roosters.

[00:16:52] They kicked the penalty goal.

[00:16:53] And I was like, look, the game's probably done.

[00:16:56] Then they scored.

[00:16:57] Kearnick, you know, Daly and Plough should be playing for Australia.

[00:17:00] They launched an investigation into her not being picked.

[00:17:03] That's how good her season was.

[00:17:04] She scored.

[00:17:05] And you're like, oh, it's game over.

[00:17:07] Then we scored again.

[00:17:08] And I was like, oh, please stop doing this to me.

[00:17:11] It, mate, in terms of grand finals, I've enjoyed it.

[00:17:13] It was right up there.

[00:17:14] It was, you know, devastating to lose in that fashion.

[00:17:18] But at halftime, you're like, you're right in your obituary, mate.

[00:17:21] It was that bad.

[00:17:22] And then at full time, you're like, geez, if that game goes another two minutes,

[00:17:25] we're probably premiers.

[00:17:26] That's insane.

[00:17:27] Yeah, it was crazy.

[00:17:27] Definitely one of the crazier games, let alone finals or grand finals that we've seen.

[00:17:31] It was pleasing that they pretty much did everything but win the grand final.

[00:17:35] Like they, they, they were down by so much.

[00:17:38] They came back, they went back and forth.

[00:17:40] And as you said, a few more minutes, uh, wasn't meant to be losing 32 to 28 high scoring grand final.

[00:17:47] What do you make of the, um, them turning down the kick in a couple of minutes ago?

[00:17:52] What do you make of it?

[00:17:53] I thought it was genius.

[00:17:54] I thought it showed rugby league IQ well beyond.

[00:17:56] I had people saying, why didn't they take the kick?

[00:17:58] They can go for a two point field goal.

[00:18:00] Mate, with the greatest respects, can you name one NRLW two point field goal or any player that can kick at 45 meters?

[00:18:07] No, no, I can't.

[00:18:08] Even a penalty goal from 40 meters is, is a very difficult.

[00:18:12] I thought they gave themselves the best chance to draw or win the game.

[00:18:17] And that showed because we saw earlier in the year, Canberra had a chance to win the game, took the penalty goal.

[00:18:21] And then the, the, the, the conversion and the siren, and they lost by two.

[00:18:27] It was, it was brilliant.

[00:18:28] And it shows that, you know, everyone was switched on, on the biggest occasion, which is probably the biggest if you can take out of it.

[00:18:33] I have no idea, but it could have come from Tony Herman, obviously, or it could have come from someone like Pennatani, who's just so educated in this game that we love.

[00:18:43] It could have been anyone, of course, but no, I'm with you.

[00:18:45] I think it was a great move.

[00:18:46] I remember it being the right call, the most high pressure situation they've ever been in, in their careers as rugby league players and admin staff to make that call.

[00:18:57] That's a great sign, man.

[00:18:58] So let's talk a bit about the players individually, and we'll start with one of your favorite players, Brooke Anderson.

[00:19:04] She played 11 games, started all of them, was obviously a very dominant force for us.

[00:19:12] Yeah.

[00:19:12] So she won our Fins Up Player of the Year, which is probably the most prestigious award in rugby league.

[00:19:18] Named after the great Maddie Studden, the Maddie S Awards.

[00:19:21] Look, I like, and yeah, look, I'm very biased.

[00:19:23] I love Brooke Anderson.

[00:19:24] I think she's fantastic on and off the park.

[00:19:26] I was at the preseason meet and greet.

[00:19:28] She just, her and Pennatani were the stars of the show for me.

[00:19:32] They were just so engaged.

[00:19:34] And Holly Wheeler too, she's fantastic.

[00:19:37] Make defensively, I think she's the best one-on-one tackler in the female game.

[00:19:42] And she just was a weapon.

[00:19:43] You know, she goes on, she plays nine, because Quincy Dodd plays, you know, 60, 55, 60 minutes a game.

[00:19:50] She just goes in, she can do everything.

[00:19:51] Like if you ask her to play fullback, she'll play fullback.

[00:19:53] If you ask her to play in the props, yeah, sweet.

[00:19:55] Give me the ball.

[00:19:56] Every time we were down, she just took a hit up.

[00:19:58] Every time we needed a big defensive play, she made it.

[00:20:01] I, again, very biased.

[00:20:03] I should put that on record.

[00:20:04] She probably is my favorite player.

[00:20:07] I almost flawless, mate.

[00:20:08] If she, if she had a chip and chase or kick for a forced dropout, then it's almost perfect season.

[00:20:15] She's fantastic.

[00:20:15] I was a bit worried she'd go to the dogs, because her and Holly Wheeler are a couple.

[00:20:19] And Holly said that she's going to support the Sharks because of her partner being Brooke Anderson.

[00:20:23] So I was like, oh, thank, thank all the gods.

[00:20:25] Like, whoa, can't be losing her.

[00:20:27] Next up, we have someone who had a pretty good season.

[00:20:31] And Nessa Biddle played all 11 games, started all 11 games, only scored four tries out of the season that she played.

[00:20:39] But she busted 51 tackles.

[00:20:43] She was just an absolute physical presence out there.

[00:20:46] She, let me have a look at her.

[00:20:48] Oh, she had a couple of try assists, couple of line break assists.

[00:20:51] But her, her main job in life was just to be a badass.

[00:20:54] And that's what she was.

[00:20:56] A great find for the game.

[00:20:58] I mean, she's only been playing the actual game for a few years, coming from New Zealand.

[00:21:03] And yeah, what did you make of Nessa Biddle season?

[00:21:06] One stat you don't see is Sol's taking.

[00:21:08] Because she's got a, she's got a whole heap of them.

[00:21:11] I actually got a tweet on the NRLW where she broke someone.

[00:21:15] I said, Anessa Biddle took a soul.

[00:21:16] And the official account ran with the video with my tweet.

[00:21:20] So thank you for that.

[00:21:20] I do love the attention.

[00:21:21] But she's, she was Rookie of the Elite last year.

[00:21:25] And she just, she got better.

[00:21:27] She got bigger.

[00:21:27] She got stronger.

[00:21:28] She had one bad game all year.

[00:21:29] The Roosters game.

[00:21:30] But we all did.

[00:21:32] She is something special.

[00:21:33] I thought Georgia Ravix would be the top try scorer based on the fact that Anessa Biddle would draw six or seven defenders and just score untouched.

[00:21:41] Ended up happening a few times.

[00:21:43] Yeah, she's, she's frightening mate.

[00:21:45] And I was so scared she was going to go back to the Warriors, but she penned an extension preseason with us for a couple more years.

[00:21:50] And I could not be happier.

[00:21:52] Again, just a freakish season from a young freakish player.

[00:21:55] But she has top quality.

[00:21:58] You know, the Roosters had the best center pairing in the game.

[00:22:00] Cronulla are definitely 1A or 2 at worst.

[00:22:03] One of my favorite players.

[00:22:04] I've got a few favorites, but Rhiannon Byers, who from what I can tell doesn't get a lot of the spotlight, but she played 10 games, started 10 games.

[00:22:14] She, I like what she does on both sides of the ball.

[00:22:17] How do you feel about Byers?

[00:22:19] Yeah, she's a big presence out wide.

[00:22:20] I'm a big fan.

[00:22:21] She, defensively, she improved big time this year.

[00:22:24] I, it was either her or Chloe Saunders for that starting spot.

[00:22:27] I think they went, they made the right choice.

[00:22:29] She, she can go in the middle too.

[00:22:31] Probably just lacks the size, but I know she did take a couple of big hit ups.

[00:22:35] Huge fan, mate.

[00:22:36] You think she lacks size?

[00:22:37] Not size per se, but there's like, without, without naming names, the Roosters have, you know, humongous second rowers.

[00:22:48] And there was a few that ran throughout our second rowers.

[00:22:52] Um, just on field, you know, like, Viliama Kicker kills players because he's, he's just bigger than them.

[00:22:57] And she's not a small player by any stretch, but, um, I thought, I thought she, she grew up this year and she's frightening going into next year.

[00:23:08] At hooker, a club favorite and just one of the best players in the game.

[00:23:12] Quincy Dodd played all 11 games for try assists for line break assists made thousand tackles, obviously now currently playing a rep football.

[00:23:21] Just how important is Quincy to what we do, Dan?

[00:23:24] And she's in everything. She's inaugural signing too, from memory.

[00:23:27] She heart and soul of the club played out of skin this year.

[00:23:32] She, you know, she had that one bad kick that I referenced earlier, but if you take that away again, it's a near flawless season.

[00:23:38] She is the most dangerous dummy half runner in the game.

[00:23:42] And I'm pretty confident in saying that there's just probably some better dummy half, but out of the, you know,

[00:23:47] she picks the ball up one here, then she's gone and super, super exciting.

[00:23:51] I think her minutes went up this year too, from memory or were very close, which is, um, which is good to say.

[00:23:57] But yeah, I'm glad she got picked for the Jillaroos cause she absolutely deserved that honor.

[00:24:00] As someone who seems to be improving each and every game, we're losing her to the Bulldogs,

[00:24:06] which will make sense when I say her name.

[00:24:08] And that is Tegan Dimmick who started two games, but played 11 all up.

[00:24:14] Yeah.

[00:24:15] Uh, it's a shame to lose.

[00:24:16] I won't begrudge her moving.

[00:24:19] She'll probably get a starting spot there, her and Holly Wheeler.

[00:24:21] But yeah, like when, when Wheeler was ruled out for the first final, Dimmick stepped up and had a while of a game.

[00:24:27] Yeah.

[00:24:27] I'm really upset to be losing her.

[00:24:30] Can't keep them all obviously.

[00:24:31] And I wish her all the best, but yeah, tremendous season.

[00:24:34] Vanessa Foliaki played 11 games.

[00:24:36] She started two.

[00:24:38] Uh, what, what do you want to say about Vanessa's season that was?

[00:24:41] Yeah.

[00:24:41] Again, very good.

[00:24:42] You need, you need the bench players.

[00:24:44] There's a lot of teams there that have a really good starting 13 and not a whole lot coming off the bench.

[00:24:49] Cronella's bench probably two behind the Roosters, maybe, maybe the Broncos of course.

[00:24:54] But, um, yeah, yeah.

[00:24:55] Another one.

[00:24:55] I think she played, she was captain for Tonga the other night too, in the Pacific cup, which was, which was amazing to see.

[00:25:02] Just, um, a leader mate.

[00:25:03] You need, you need leaders and she's right up there.

[00:25:05] As someone who played four games off the bench, but certainly a physical presence,

[00:25:10] which I believe we might be seeing in the, in the, uh, post-season rep footy as well.

[00:25:15] And that is Philomena Hanese.

[00:25:18] Yeah.

[00:25:18] Yeah.

[00:25:18] She came good at the end.

[00:25:19] I thought we'd actually see more of her, but I think she was coming off an injury or, or missing time last year.

[00:25:26] But, uh, yeah, we'll see bigger things.

[00:25:27] We are leaving out a few players who just played the one game, but Georgia Hannaway played seven games, started six, seen somewhat as the future in the halves.

[00:25:37] One of the younger players we have.

[00:25:39] Is that correct Dan?

[00:25:40] Yeah, definitely mate.

[00:25:41] She's a special talent.

[00:25:43] She ball playing wise, her right to left passing is scary.

[00:25:47] Yeah.

[00:25:47] And for a young player, I'm seeing some maturity there, which I really liked, especially towards the end of the season, uh, called in when the injuries were piling up and, uh, yeah, played more than half the season.

[00:26:00] So there's also a spot for her to take next year with, uh, Taylor Preston leaving.

[00:26:06] Correct?

[00:26:06] Absolutely.

[00:26:07] She'll be our starting seven next year.

[00:26:09] And I couldn't be more excited.

[00:26:10] I thought she, when she took over in that grand final, I thought she was the reason the game turned.

[00:26:14] Next on our list to look at and analyze is I'm going to say my favorite player.

[00:26:19] I'm just going to put it out there.

[00:26:20] And that is the bustling second rower, Tale Holmes.

[00:26:27] Yeah.

[00:26:27] Big fan of Tale was very, very frightened early in the year when she went down, got hurt.

[00:26:32] It was great to see her up and back in the game.

[00:26:35] Mate, she's a player that plays beyond her size.

[00:26:37] Like she just, honestly, she's like that little pit bull that just won't take no.

[00:26:43] And yeah, I made like a hundred percent see why she's your favorite player.

[00:26:47] What a, what a weapon out.

[00:26:48] Right?

[00:26:48] I think she's playing for Fiji this weekend too.

[00:26:51] Like every trait she has as a player is what I really look for.

[00:26:54] Uh, the heart and soul thing, skill, playing above your size, playing tough, but with some,

[00:27:01] some attacking skill as well.

[00:27:03] And I think she just on that edge, she just really not only fills the gap, but also creates them.

[00:27:09] I could see her filling in other positions if needed.

[00:27:13] We don't see it too, too often, but obviously center could be one of those positions, but

[00:27:17] I think she's versatile enough given her athleticism, given her size to cover a bunch of positions.

[00:27:23] And I think that's only a bonus.

[00:27:25] Maybe one, another reason why I respect her so much.

[00:27:28] Next up, we have a bit of a fan favorite, Ellie Johnston.

[00:27:33] She played all 11 games, started all 11 games.

[00:27:36] Uh, certainly one of the best front rowers out there.

[00:27:39] What did you make of her season?

[00:27:40] Yeah, she was massive.

[00:27:42] I'm such a huge fan of Ellie Johnston.

[00:27:44] Anyone that doesn't like Ellie Johnston is watching the wrong game.

[00:27:46] Honestly, she, um, you want to talk heart and soul mate.

[00:27:51] She's everything in this club and loves to try, loves the front rowers try.

[00:27:57] She, I am so excited about that front row pairing next year.

[00:28:02] I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but wow.

[00:28:04] We have got some size, some power and some aggression.

[00:28:08] Very, very exciting.

[00:28:09] She, I can't believe they didn't pick her for New South Wales.

[00:28:12] She, I think she was 18th or 19th player on all three games.

[00:28:16] And again, she just missed Jilla Roo selection.

[00:28:19] She'll be a rep player for many, many years to come.

[00:28:21] Captain and just absolute NRL W favorite, let alone shark favorite.

[00:28:28] Tiana Panitani played all 11 games.

[00:28:31] She scored nine tries.

[00:28:33] She played a bunch of different positions.

[00:28:35] Her class on and off the field is just there for everyone to see.

[00:28:39] So happy.

[00:28:39] She's a shark.

[00:28:40] Was she our best player this year, Dan?

[00:28:42] She must've been close.

[00:28:43] If she wasn't, she was second behind Anderson in terms of attack.

[00:28:46] Definitely.

[00:28:47] I'm going to make a big statement.

[00:28:49] I think she's the biggest star in the NRL W.

[00:28:52] Now I know people are going to push back and say that Millie Elliott works for Channel 9.

[00:28:56] Dally M night is always a punish to watch, right?

[00:29:00] It's just the production is long.

[00:29:02] It's boring.

[00:29:03] Every time Panitani got the microphone, you just, she just killed it.

[00:29:07] Again, in the preseason, we went to the, um, to meet the girls, got my jersey sign.

[00:29:12] I am wearing it.

[00:29:13] Not that you can see, cause my camera's not working, but you were talking and, and, you

[00:29:18] know, a lot, a lot of the girls are young.

[00:29:20] That's their first sort of thing.

[00:29:21] Panitani is like, so boys, you seen me at the first game?

[00:29:24] Yeah, yeah, of course we'll be there.

[00:29:25] It can't wait.

[00:29:26] I was like, how are you feeling after origin?

[00:29:27] She's like, the legs are sore, you know, not as long as I used to be.

[00:29:30] And she's ripping all the girls and just having a great old time.

[00:29:33] She's, she's the star of the show, mate.

[00:29:35] I love Panitani.

[00:29:35] Last year, full disclosure, I didn't think she was our player of the year.

[00:29:38] I thought, you know, they were probably two or three better this year though.

[00:29:41] I'm not arguing that she was our best.

[00:29:43] What a, what a wonderful season.

[00:29:45] I really love her analysis, uh, pre and post on Fox where she does those games and also

[00:29:51] on the half hour show with Lara.

[00:29:53] That's just off the field on the field.

[00:29:55] She's just incredible.

[00:29:56] Great defender, obviously can attack.

[00:29:59] She's tough.

[00:30:00] She's physically tough.

[00:30:02] She doesn't back down and she literally ticks every box.

[00:30:06] And you're right.

[00:30:06] I think she's the biggest star in the NRL W and she's all ours, which is awesome.

[00:30:10] Someone who's not all ours anymore is Taylor Preston, uh, half back for the Sharks over

[00:30:17] the past few years.

[00:30:19] She's off to the Bulldogs.

[00:30:21] What did you make of Preston's season this year?

[00:30:24] She had, she had four try assists.

[00:30:27] Uh, her big thing in life on the field is kicking and defending.

[00:30:32] She's very much in that traditional, uh, half back style.

[00:30:37] She's not overly flashy.

[00:30:39] Uh, what'd you make of Preston?

[00:30:40] I'm not worried about Hannaway playing half back next year.

[00:30:43] I mean, there was a couple of chances.

[00:30:46] I don't want to be too negative because overall it's super season.

[00:30:49] I think I was a bit over critical cause she signed for the dogs and you start looking

[00:30:53] for reasons to fall out of love with players.

[00:30:55] I'm happy to admit that.

[00:30:57] Look, halfbacks are made scapegoats, mate.

[00:30:58] If you lose games, it's always a halfback.

[00:31:00] You win games.

[00:31:01] Oh, but the center score four tries.

[00:31:03] Okay.

[00:31:03] Who got the ball to her?

[00:31:04] I think I'm being a bit unfair.

[00:31:06] I thought Taylor had a good season, but if you said to me, her or Hannaway,

[00:31:10] Hannaway at seven next year, I'm taking Hannaway, whether Preston's there or not.

[00:31:14] All right.

[00:31:14] Next up we have Georgia Ravix who played all 11 games, scored five tries.

[00:31:19] Ravix to me is someone who I think the more I watch her, the more impressed I get.

[00:31:25] It takes a little while to get on board, but when you see her do things, you're like,

[00:31:28] Oh, she's pretty good.

[00:31:29] And she'll probably get better as the years go on.

[00:31:32] Is that a fair, short analysis of Ravix at the moment?

[00:31:36] A hundred percent.

[00:31:37] She's a monster.

[00:31:37] If she learns to back herself, she'll be unstoppable.

[00:31:41] Yeah.

[00:31:41] We have second row at Chloe Saunders.

[00:31:44] She's played nine games all off the bench.

[00:31:48] We compared her to buyers before and very much luck for luck, Dan.

[00:31:52] Yeah.

[00:31:53] I, out of all the players we're losing, Chloe Saunders kills me the worst.

[00:31:56] I, I didn't know, I don't know where she signed it.

[00:31:59] Probably the Bulldogs, but she just re-signed in the preseason.

[00:32:02] And then she was on the awards night, the players they said goodbye to.

[00:32:06] That one hurt, which says it all.

[00:32:08] I think she could, she could have started a hundred percent this season.

[00:32:11] Cassie Staples, someone else who I think the more I watch, the more I like, played all

[00:32:17] 11 games, scored four tries.

[00:32:19] What do you make of Cassie who is a little bit versatile as well in where she can play?

[00:32:23] I thought she, she filled in at fullback very admirably when I, I thought the on obvious

[00:32:30] was moving to Anagato there.

[00:32:32] And, but when they moved Staples, I was okay with it.

[00:32:34] Look her, people are going to say she dropped a couple of balls in the grand final.

[00:32:38] Yeah.

[00:32:38] She, she had an awful first half, which you know, you don't need to tell her.

[00:32:42] She knows.

[00:32:43] Overall, I thought she had a fantastic season.

[00:32:45] Didn't end well.

[00:32:46] I hope she uses that because in terms of try scoring ability, she's right up there in wingers.

[00:32:51] I actually thought if you told me four, I would have insisted it was more than that.

[00:32:55] I remember across a few times.

[00:32:57] Yeah.

[00:32:58] Overall a good season, but a grand final.

[00:33:00] Yeah, for sure.

[00:33:01] Uh, someone else who played a bunch of games for us in the second row position is Manalita

[00:33:08] Takapatola.

[00:33:08] I hope that pronunciation is close.

[00:33:10] Uh, what did you make of Manalita's game?

[00:33:12] She played seven games off the bench for us.

[00:33:15] Yeah, monster.

[00:33:15] She's one to watch next year.

[00:33:17] I think she goes into the Teagan Dimmick role, plays a bit more minutes.

[00:33:20] She, I think she scored for Tonga the other night too.

[00:33:23] And absolutely.

[00:33:25] Uh, yeah, she's, she's one to watch.

[00:33:27] We're really excited.

[00:33:28] Huge season.

[00:33:28] Unfortunately, Jada Taylor only played two games.

[00:33:30] So she's in that category where we're not going to analyze her too much, but we can talk

[00:33:34] about how much of a loss she was, even though they filled in really great for her throughout

[00:33:39] the year.

[00:33:40] I think if Taylor plays, I mean, it's a stretch to say it, but why not?

[00:33:45] I mean, who's to say that she wouldn't have made the difference in that grand final, Dan?

[00:33:49] I'm willing to say that she would have made the difference.

[00:33:50] A hundred percent.

[00:33:51] I think when she went down, I was devastated because she's the one player that's like no

[00:33:55] one else in the competition, like in, in her position.

[00:33:58] Every, every team's got one or two and she, she's ours.

[00:34:02] Yeah.

[00:34:02] I was just, it sucked when she got hurt because she's so likable.

[00:34:07] Her and Tonagato are obviously very close and you know, you want to pick a mentor.

[00:34:11] Tonagato is the one.

[00:34:12] So she, she's got some footy smarts.

[00:34:15] Can't wait to see her next year.

[00:34:17] Um, we won a grand final.

[00:34:18] We got a huge recruit, which I'm probably sure we'll talk about.

[00:34:21] And we got our number one fullback and arguably our best attacking player to come back.

[00:34:25] Yeah.

[00:34:26] I wish it didn't happen, but my word is she got a career ahead of her.

[00:34:29] Yeah.

[00:34:29] Only young, uh, employed by the club, extremely likable, as you said already with immense

[00:34:35] talent and can only get better.

[00:34:36] Uh, so we'll, we'll hope that, uh, Jada makes the full recovery.

[00:34:40] The injury was earlier in the season, so to speak, correct?

[00:34:44] Yeah.

[00:34:44] Round two against Parra.

[00:34:45] I actually had someone come to me and say, she's injury prone.

[00:34:49] ACLs happen.

[00:34:50] You can't look, ACLs happen is, is all I'm going to say last year.

[00:34:55] You know, don't forget.

[00:34:56] This is a girl in a second full season.

[00:34:58] She's not, it's, that's not writer off.

[00:35:01] I think I wrote in the zero tackle predictions.

[00:35:03] I singled her out.

[00:35:06] She's going to be the next superstar.

[00:35:08] She's going to be the face of the game.

[00:35:09] Give a couple of years.

[00:35:10] I think next year she goes kaboom.

[00:35:12] So upset.

[00:35:13] Her season was cut.

[00:35:14] You can do a knee walking down the stairs.

[00:35:15] I've done it myself.

[00:35:16] No, it's not.

[00:35:18] It happens.

[00:35:19] And I'm definitely not willing to even come close to saying what you said before that

[00:35:23] someone else said.

[00:35:23] So, uh, we wish her all the best.

[00:35:25] Can't wait to see her running around.

[00:35:26] Speaking of her mentor, Emma Tonegato, uh, started nine games for us.

[00:35:31] Uh, she missed a couple through injury.

[00:35:33] Unfortunately, uh, I thought Emma had a, a mixed season.

[00:35:38] I thought, you know, obviously when you're, when she's on the field, it's a really good

[00:35:41] thing.

[00:35:42] It's a positive thing.

[00:35:43] Her attack is on its day.

[00:35:45] Flawless.

[00:35:46] Uh, I thought that she wasn't flawless in every game she played, which is fine.

[00:35:50] No one's perfect.

[00:35:51] Happy.

[00:35:51] She's there.

[00:35:52] I'm happy.

[00:35:52] She's a shark again, a great role model, a great employee of the club, but more importantly,

[00:35:56] a heck of a footballer.

[00:35:57] Uh, what did you make of Emma's season?

[00:35:59] Yeah, I agree with that.

[00:36:00] She was up and down and it's completely fair to criticize her more than others.

[00:36:04] She's the biggest name player.

[00:36:06] She's the marquee class, but she's paid the most.

[00:36:08] That sounds familiar.

[00:36:09] That scenario.

[00:36:10] It certainly does.

[00:36:11] And she's a half again, her versatility probably hurt her a little bit because she

[00:36:17] was flying at five eight and then they moved it a fullback out of nowhere.

[00:36:20] And it's like, okay, I get it.

[00:36:22] She played fullback.

[00:36:23] She won a Dalliam there, but she was firing it at six, took her a couple of games to get

[00:36:28] the fullback role.

[00:36:28] Right.

[00:36:29] And then she was tremendous in the grand final at fullback.

[00:36:33] So yeah, I, yeah, I'm willing to say she played more good than she did bad, but there

[00:36:38] are definitely games there.

[00:36:39] There also is a little bit of a, oh geez, Cronulla down, get the ball to Tonagato, which

[00:36:44] again, sounds very familiar.

[00:36:46] And there's also a, oh, we lost by two points.

[00:36:48] Why didn't Tonagato take the ball, run a hundred meters untouched or backflip and score?

[00:36:53] Which again, sounds very familiar.

[00:36:55] Yeah.

[00:36:55] She, she's much maligned, but.

[00:36:57] Because in the West Tigers game, we're all going, give it to Tonagato.

[00:37:01] Yeah.

[00:37:01] She almost scored like four times.

[00:37:03] So it's an easy, it's an easy trap to fall into.

[00:37:06] And we, we, we kind of need to not do that because it's a really good team all across the

[00:37:10] park and it shouldn't be up to her to necessarily do everything for us.

[00:37:13] Of course.

[00:37:14] Yeah.

[00:37:14] Big moments are there for her to take, but yeah, it's very solid season.

[00:37:18] Probably just, you know, a bit like the other fellow we're talking about.

[00:37:22] You want them to reach those heights for lots of different reasons.

[00:37:24] I don't think she did, but it doesn't mean it was a negative season by any means.

[00:37:29] And last, but certainly not least one tough hombre.

[00:37:32] And that would be Holly Wheeler started nine of 10 games.

[00:37:36] She appeared in, even scored a try.

[00:37:39] What can we say about Holly?

[00:37:40] Big loss, big loss.

[00:37:42] I mean, I know we're bringing in a pretty damn good replacement, but I'd love to have

[00:37:47] Holly Wheeler come off the bench next year.

[00:37:49] She just, she's the kind of player that will put a team on her back and just run.

[00:37:54] There was against the Tigers game.

[00:37:56] She was, she was sin binned and we've seen players get sin binned and go into their shell.

[00:38:00] She came out and put a big shot on with the first one to the point where we were like,

[00:38:03] God, she's going again here.

[00:38:06] Very, she leads by example, mate.

[00:38:08] She, she's a big loss, which, which, which sucks.

[00:38:10] I'm not going to begrudge her because I think she's a Bulldogs junior.

[00:38:14] I know she plays the team that won one mil in the grand final a couple of years ago.

[00:38:18] Pretty sure she did a ACL and miss that grand final.

[00:38:20] So she had some unfinished business.

[00:38:22] When she signed with them, I was like, ah, that sucks.

[00:38:24] And then seeing how she played in the grand final, I'm like, ah, that really sucks.

[00:38:28] Cause big losses.

[00:38:29] There's a part of me that kind of leans towards, oh, there's a new team coming in.

[00:38:34] It's a new competition, more or less.

[00:38:36] I know that's disrespecting NRLW a little bit, but it's a new competition in the grand scheme of things.

[00:38:41] I sort of feel like the clubs do need to spread out the talent a little bit.

[00:38:46] And I, and I, and that's what's happening with the Sharks and Canterbury.

[00:38:49] We're losing a couple of players to them.

[00:38:51] I don't want them to go, but I understand why it's happening.

[00:38:55] Yeah.

[00:38:55] The rugby league fan in us is saying that it needs to happen.

[00:38:58] And I mean, we took, we took Parramatta finished last, last year.

[00:39:01] They're four or five best players came to Cronulla.

[00:39:04] So it'd be a bit rich for us to say, oh, whoa.

[00:39:06] I know.

[00:39:08] It's a very good point that you made about us taking some Eels players.

[00:39:11] Cause without those players, maybe we're not even making the finals.

[00:39:14] So what are your thoughts on Tony Herman?

[00:39:16] I thought it was tremendous.

[00:39:17] Like to be six and O is unheard of.

[00:39:22] The team we had, I still maintain was the fourth or fifth best team on paper to make a grand

[00:39:27] final.

[00:39:27] Insane to lose to the Tigers.

[00:39:29] I thought, oh, maybe we need a coach that, you know, something they're not playing for

[00:39:34] him.

[00:39:34] We saw them beat the Broncos.

[00:39:37] And who did they run to?

[00:39:38] They all ran to Tony Herman and jumped on him.

[00:39:40] And I am almost offended by the fact that he didn't win coach of the year and the daily

[00:39:45] and night.

[00:39:46] Dottie's tremendous.

[00:39:47] And I think, I don't want to say we're going to win the title next year, but if we do,

[00:39:53] he's going to play a big, big part in it.

[00:39:55] Yeah.

[00:39:55] And I think that we're probably one of three favorites to do it.

[00:40:00] I mean, as you said, there's a great prop coming in to replace another great prop.

[00:40:04] We're going to have our fullback back.

[00:40:07] We're going to most likely have, who are we going to have Hannaway and Tonagato in the

[00:40:11] halves?

[00:40:12] Quincy Dodd, I can see that's a pretty good spine to start with.

[00:40:16] And then you've got the props and everything else happening.

[00:40:18] The edge back rows that we love, the centers, like it's a pretty stacked team.

[00:40:23] So having learned from what happened this year in the grand final, I think it's almost

[00:40:28] a trajectory like the NRL team.

[00:40:29] I think that the Penrith loss, as much as we didn't want to lose to Penrith in the NRL

[00:40:35] competition, they're going to be so much better, Dan, in my opinion, for that loss because

[00:40:39] they know what a prelim feels like now.

[00:40:42] Now it's time to go one better.

[00:40:43] And I think for the NRLW team, they experienced a grand final loss, which is even better in

[00:40:48] theory with what I'm talking about.

[00:40:50] So the pain's there.

[00:40:52] They know how close they went.

[00:40:54] They literally were a few minutes away from winning a grand final in extraordinary circumstances.

[00:40:58] So I think it's a big year coming and I don't want to hype them up too much at this time

[00:41:02] of the year before, but I think you're right.

[00:41:05] I think that we're going to be thereabouts.

[00:41:08] Yeah, it was a pretty much perfect season.

[00:41:10] I mean, if they'd scored on that last play and won, it would have been the perfect season.

[00:41:16] You're never going to get that.

[00:41:17] But I think the way Herman galvanized them after that Tigers loss, because we could have

[00:41:22] gone up and if Brisbane put 40 on us, whatever, we made the finals.

[00:41:25] Yay.

[00:41:26] It's a feel good story.

[00:41:26] And for him to get them up to the fact that they believe they could beat Brisbane, which

[00:41:30] no one really did.

[00:41:32] And then them all run to him after it showed everything.

[00:41:36] And you need a good leader.

[00:41:37] I'm not, I'm not backwards and coming forward.

[00:41:38] I'll criticize people if I feel they deserve it.

[00:41:41] I think, I think Herman can, can really, if he walks down Cronulla today, I'm buying him

[00:41:47] a non-alcoholic beer because I'm not drinking after last night.

[00:41:49] And I really love the way that he carries himself.

[00:41:51] I love the way he talks to the media, the way he handles the players.

[00:41:54] He's very team first, player first.

[00:41:57] There's no BS.

[00:41:57] There's no carry on.

[00:41:59] Yeah.

[00:42:00] I rate him as well.

[00:42:01] I really do as a, as a, as a pretty smart coach of rugby league.

[00:42:04] I think we're in pretty good hands.

[00:42:06] Yeah.

[00:42:07] The recruitment fellow, I couldn't tell you his name off the top of my head.

[00:42:09] I can picture him.

[00:42:10] He's doing great job along with the other people involved with recruitment because we're losing

[00:42:15] some people.

[00:42:15] We're getting some people, there's kids coming through her extraordinary talent in time.

[00:42:20] They're in a pretty healthy spot, Dan, as far as the future goes.

[00:42:24] Yeah.

[00:42:24] Big time.

[00:42:24] I mean, one player we didn't mention, she didn't play games.

[00:42:27] She Andy Robinson.

[00:42:28] I am really upset to lose her.

[00:42:31] She's a super talent.

[00:42:32] If she played on the wing at times, I, I, Ravik's I'm a huge fan of.

[00:42:37] So either or I don't think you lose too much.

[00:42:39] And Ravik's a little bit bigger, but Robinson's the kind of player that when the fullback did go

[00:42:44] down, Jada Taylor, you could put Robinson in at fullback or you could put on the wing.

[00:42:49] Yeah.

[00:42:49] It's a shame to lose her, but I think, I think to lose the players we did, we didn't lose a, a marquee player, which I know sounds weird because we lost our half back.

[00:42:58] But Georgia Hannaway, I think to a better talent, she younger, I'm excited about that move.

[00:43:03] So I think the recruitment team did amazing because the Bulldogs could have come in and said, oh, hey, you know, we've got all this money.

[00:43:10] We've got unlimited cap.

[00:43:11] We saw what Cronulla did.

[00:43:12] They went and got Emantone Gardo from the Dragons after a Dallium winning season.

[00:43:16] I know they played two and one, but that, that's a thing.

[00:43:19] So I think they've done exceptionally well to keep this team together.

[00:43:23] And the player that we're bringing in, if you're not excited, again, rugby league is not for you.

[00:43:27] Yes.

[00:43:27] It's going to be a hell of a front row.

[00:43:29] I bet you, Quincy's just, you know, can't wait.

[00:43:33] You're licking a whip.

[00:43:34] Can't wait for the first, you know, even the first trial to come around.

[00:43:37] So it's, yeah, good things ahead for, for NRL W Sharks fans.

[00:43:41] That's for sure.

[00:43:42] Hey, Dan, thanks for joining us.

[00:43:45] Tell us a little bit about your, your activities.

[00:43:48] You're Fins Up OG, obviously, and legend along with your mate Terry.

[00:43:52] And you also do, don't tell me, you do rugby league outlaws.

[00:43:58] Is there a third thing you guys do?

[00:44:00] There is.

[00:44:00] We do the knock on podcast on zero tackle, which is a lot of fun.

[00:44:04] So obviously our sharks based content is very shark based as, as in the name.

[00:44:09] Fins Up, we'll be doing a couple of shows during the off season.

[00:44:11] We've got our full season review coming up.

[00:44:13] We want to let the dust settle a little bit.

[00:44:15] Cause I think last year I fell into the.

[00:44:18] You're all terrible.

[00:44:19] You're lost.

[00:44:19] You're all terrible.

[00:44:20] Look exactly.

[00:44:21] And I think I was a bit negative.

[00:44:22] So we letting the dust settle and going to think it through.

[00:44:25] We'll be, you know, we'll just do some stuff during the off season.

[00:44:28] Yeah.

[00:44:28] Rugby league outlaws.

[00:44:29] We did a show.

[00:44:29] If you can check on YouTube and Chuck's a like, please a comment.

[00:44:32] I love attention.

[00:44:33] Good, bad or indifferent.

[00:44:34] Some would say it's my downfall, but I like it and I'm not changing now.

[00:44:37] Um, yeah, that'll be doing and knock on.

[00:44:39] We're taking a bit of a sabbatical until after unless something big happens.

[00:44:43] I'll, I'll be here.

[00:44:44] If you want to follow on Twitter, please do outside of the Dan, but it's.

[00:44:48] You're not on Twitter much though.

[00:44:49] We should warn people.

[00:44:50] Well, not, not at the moment.

[00:44:51] I'm not, I've got, you know, maybe when the cricket starts, we can bash the thunder.

[00:44:56] I was obviously joking.

[00:44:56] I didn't realize you weren't on.

[00:44:58] You actually weren't on there.

[00:44:59] So sorry about that.

[00:45:00] Oh no, I am.

[00:45:01] I am often.

[00:45:02] I took some time off, mate.

[00:45:03] I just, yeah, I needed a break from myself.

[00:45:07] Uh, and you write for zero tackle as well.

[00:45:10] So you can find your stuff there regularly, which is awesome.

[00:45:13] I do want to say Dan that, uh, we're doing our own, uh, Shark House pod, uh, play review

[00:45:19] in the next week or so.

[00:45:21] Just scheduling is a bit hard at this time of the year, but we're definitely also, uh,

[00:45:25] waiting for things to kind of cool down.

[00:45:27] So we can have clear, calm heads and give you our thoughts on who did what best, but like

[00:45:33] fins up, we're not going anywhere.

[00:45:34] Like this episode displays, we're going to be talking about sharks until, uh, until Santa

[00:45:39] comes and then afterwards, of course.

[00:45:41] So appreciate your time, Dan.

[00:45:43] Thanks everyone for listening.

[00:45:44] Get behind the NRLW team.

[00:45:46] They are awesome.

[00:45:48] And yeah, like Dan said with his various outputs, if you would like to give us follow, like,

[00:45:55] subscribe, we would like that as well.

[00:45:57] Until then, we will talk to you all soon.

[00:45:59] This is Shark House Pod.

[00:46:00] That's been Dan.

[00:46:02] I'm Sam.

[00:46:02] Dan and Sam has got a nice ring to it.

[00:46:05] Maybe there's something we can work on there.

[00:46:07] We'll put out two little heads together and cause that's what you and I have, two very

[00:46:12] little heads.

[00:46:13] And out of that might come one big idea.

[00:46:16] I'm just babbling up, up Cronulla.

[00:46:18] We love the sharks.

[00:46:19] We'll talk to you all soon.

[00:46:20] Thanks for your time, Dan.

[00:46:22] Sharkies!

[00:46:23] Sharkies!

[00:46:24] Sharkies!

[00:46:38] Back in the Shire.

[00:46:39] Turn your porch lights off cause we're coming home with a trophy.